Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Thermomix

Greek meatballs surrounded by rich homemade tomato sauce and topped with a sharp parmesan cheese. This is a family favourite recipe and a delicious comfort food the whole family will enjoy.

My food world turned upside down the day I tried authentic Greek meatballs, known as Souzoukakia. These meatballs which were made by a little old Greek grandmother. I had never tried such moist meat! It was a far cry from what I grew up with as an Australian child in the 1970’s.

I was visiting Townsville for the Greek festival and making my way around all my favourite foods.

Out of all the dishes I tried, the meatballs were the biggest revelation. Thankfully the Townsville Greek community had all got together, argued over the best way to make the traditional dishes and then produced a cookbook.

I bought the cookbook and now 9 years later it’s stained and dog-eared, but one of my favourite cookbooks. Since purchasing my Thermomix I have begun to convert some of the recipes. This recipe is particularly well suited to the TM.

Timesaving Tips for Preparing Meatballs

1. Grate the cheeses at the start of preparation and reserve for later. There is no need to clean the bowl after grating the cheese.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the Souzoukakia first. Then start on the tomato sauce, whilst the tomato sauce is cooking you will have time to roll the rissoles and place in the Varoma, ready to steam.
3. Preheat the oven once the Souzoukakia is steaming over the tomato sauce.

Watchpoints

1. Ensure that all the balls are roughly the same size so they all cook at the same rate.
2. When placing the balls on the Varoma tray be mindful that steaming holes are not all covered. Covering the holes will prevent the steam from cooking the meatballs.

So today I’m sharing the recipe for Souzoukakia, otherwise known as “Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.” The images above show the steps in more details should you wish to refer to them.

Timesaving tips for making tomato Sauce

As much as I love making my tomato sauce from scratch it is not necessary to do this everytime you make Greek Meatballs.  If tomato seconds are available on special, or you have an influx of tomatoes in your garden I would absolutely recommend making the sauce from scratch.

But, if you’re pushed for time you can follow the instructions up to the addition of fresh tomatoes. Simple swap the fresh tomatoes for the same amount of tomato passatta.  The dish will not need all the cooking time. So once the passata has been added, stack the meatballs on top in the Varoma and cook for 25 minutes /120 degrees/Speed 1.5.

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Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Thermomix Style

Julie Carlyle

A Family Friendly Dinner Idea - Souzoukakia, otherwise known as Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. A comfort food the whole family will enjoy.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Course Main

Cuisine American, Australian, Italian

Servings 8 people

Calories 576 kcal

Equipment

• Thermomix
• Varoma
• Oven

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Prepping Ingredients

• 80 g parmesan cheese
• 100 g tasty cheese
• 1/2 bunch continental parsley

Meatballs

• 20 g garlic
• 200 g onion quartered
• 180 g tomato paste 1/2 cup
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp cumin ground
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 TBS parmesan cheese (from the pre-grated bowl)
• 1 tsp allspice
• 145 g bread crumbs 1 cup
• 500 g lamb mince
• 500 g beef mince not lean

Napolitana Sauce

• 20 g garlic
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 200 g onion quartered
• 50 g oil
• 800 g tomatoes halved
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 100 ml red wine
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 TBS brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 TBS Vegetable stock paste (recipe from basic cookbook) OR Massel vegetable stock cube

Instructions

 

Ingredient Preparation

• Place the parmesan cheese in the TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
  80 g parmesan cheese
• Place the tasty cheese in the TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
  100 g tasty cheese
• Place the parsley in the TM bowl. Chop 5sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
  1/2 bunch continental parsley

Preparing Meatballs

• Add quartered onion and garlic to TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9.
  200 g onion, 20 g garlic
• Add eggs, cumin, garlic salt, allspice, onion powder and tomato paste to the onion mixture. Combine 5 sec/Speed 5.
  2 eggs, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp allspice, 180 g tomato paste
• Add the breadcrumbs, 1 TBS grated parmesan, pepper, lamb and beef to TM bowl. Dough setting/2 minute. Help the mixture combine with a spatula.
  1 TBS parmesan cheese, 145 g bread crumbs, 500 g lamb mince, 500 g beef mince, 1/2 tsp pepper
• Remove the meatball mixture from the TM Bowl and reserve in a large bowl. Without washing the TM move onto the sauce.

Napoletana Sauce

• Place the peppercorns and garlic in the TM bowl. Chop 3 sec/Speed 9.
  20 g garlic, 1 tsp black peppercorns
• Add onion to the garlic mixture. Chop 3 sec/Speed 7. Scrape down TM bowl.
  200 g onion
• Add oil to the TM Bowl. Sautee 5 min/Varoma/Speed 1.5.
  50 g oil
• Place the halved tomatoes, sugar, garlic salt, allspice, red wine, oregano, stock paste and tomato paste in TM bowl. Puree 30 sec/Speed 8.
  800 g tomatoes, 100 ml red wine, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 TBS brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp allspice, 1 TBS Vegetable stock paste, 1 TBS tomato paste
• Add the bay leaf to the sauce. Simmer 30 min/120 degree/Speed 1.5 (MC OUT). Add the strainer to the top of the lid to prevent splatters.
  1 bay leaf

Cooking Meatballs

• Whilst the tomato sauce is cooking prepare the meatballs.
• Shape the mixture into even sized meatballs and place on the deep Varoma and shallow Varoma trays ready to be steamed.
• Once the sauce has finished, stack the Varoma trays on top of the tomato sauce. Cook the meatballs and sauce for a further 15min/120 degrees/Speed 1.5.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Baking the Dish

• Arrange the meatballs in an ovenproof dish.
• Pour the tomato sauce over the Souzoukakia.
• Top the dish with chopped parsley, grated tasty cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.
  80 g parmesan cheese, 100 g tasty cheese

Notes

Serving Suggestions:

1. Serving this dish with zoodles (zucchini noodles) will keep the carbohydrate load low for those on a LCHF or Keto diet.
2. I love this dish with mashed potato.
3. Traditionally Italians would serve meatballs with pasta.
4. Another nice option is to enjoy the dish with some crusty bread. 

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 33gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 1458mgPotassium: 914mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1375IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 309mgIron: 4.6mg

Keyword Comfort food, Main Meal, Meatballs, Mince

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

I find meatballs fabulous to make in the Thermomix. Steaming the meat in the Varoma means the rissoles are so much moister than if they were fried. Also frying rissoles is very hit and miss. Too many times I’ve meatballs fall apart in the frying pan.

So if you’re looking for more recipes I’ve got you covered.

Other Meatballs Recipes

Swedish

Chicken Teriyaki 

Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta

If you’ve tried the recipe please leave a message and let me know what you thought. Your comments help me to decide what recipes I should make and share. I’d also love to know your favourite TM dish, or perhaps you have a suggestion for another recipe I should make and share?

Best of all your comments may help another Thermomixer trying to choose a recipe for their family.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Cooking

j